Administration

The Social Tragedy of Alcohol – A Seminar

23 Feb’19 Sat. 10:30 am to 2 pm

Kasturba Hall, Gandhi Bhavana, Bengaluru

Alcohol has been a leading factor for disintegration and pauperization of lakhs of poor families- both rural and urban- in the country. This social tragedy is perpetrated by several governments which have conveniently argued the ‘inevitability’ of tolerating drinking alcohol among people, and has effected an extremely successful liquor business basing itself on corruption and non-enforcement of existing rules and regulations related to liquor business. The real misfortune is that with the legalization of liquor business its ill effects –social, economic and psychological – have multiplied manifold.

Over the past few years, in order to augment its financial resources from this sector, the state government has gone on a spree of issuing excessive liquor marketing licenses and permits across the state, thereby flooding alcohol all over! The corrupt nexus between liquor dealers, the officials and the politicians is well known and all efforts are afoot to raise the minimum marketing limits at all costs.

The fact that liquor has decimated poor families through shattered relationships, leading to utter penury and serious impact on children and family health needs no overemphasis.

Pushed to the wall, thousands of rural poor women marched from Chitradurga to Bangalore in order to open the eyes of the slumbering government on their tragic plight due to alcohol. This huge march of women along with their travails they faced en-route, has touched the conscience of all those with social concerns. It is another tragedy that instead of addressing the evil of alcohol, the state government has fixed the excise target to Rs.21000 crores, an increase of 16 % against the previous year!

It is now the time to intensify the social movement against alcohol. Towards this, Gram Seva Sangh, in collaboration with Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi and Madya Nishedha Andolana has organized a women-centered seminar entitled, ‘The Social Tragedy of Alcohol’, on 23rd February 2019 from 10-30 am to 2 pm at Kasturba Hall, Gandhi Bhavana, Bangalore. Renowned women social thinkers, activists and women engaged in anti-liquor movement will be participating in this important event.

It is extremely essential that all women living in towns and cities need to join hands with rural women to fight against this social scourge of liquor.